FIFA bans Nepal football chief for corruption

FIFA on Monday banned Nepal’s football chief for 10 years and the president of the Laos federation for two years for bribery.

The decade-long sanction against Ganesh Thapa, president of the All-Nepal Football Association, was a new blow to the country’s football image after several national players were accused of match-fixing.

Thapa stood down as a football chief one year ago amid an investigation into accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars during his 19-year tenure.

Thapa “committed various acts of misconduct over several years, including the solicitation and acceptance of cash payments from another football official, for both personal and family gain,” said a FIFA statement without giving details.

FIFA’s ethics committee said Thapa had specifically been bribed over elections for the FIFA executive committee in 2009 and 2011.

On top of the ban, he was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($19,850) by the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber.

Nepal’s national team captain, Sagar Thapa, and four other players have been charged with treason over alleged match-fixing in World Cup qualifiers. Prosecutors have sought life jail terms for the five who have denied the charges.

Laos Football Federation president Viphet Sihachakr was banned for two years after he “solicited and accepted a payment from another football official” around 2011 elections for the FIFA executive.